Valve.



A. STENGER.

VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16. 1915.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

I M M a 4 v m x w a0 1 5 mma witness )f M/ W THE cowmum msoulluin cm,wAsm UNITED STATES PATENT GFFIQE.

ANDREW STENGER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VALVE.

Application filed August 16, 1915.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ANDREW STENGER, acitizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago,county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Valves, of which the following is aspecification.

Heretofore, needle valves have been made to operate by turning a handwheel several times until the valve is opened or closed. Valves of thistype have been very eflicient because they are capable of taking up wearof the valve seat as fast as it occurs, but such valves have thedisadvantage of not indicating to an observer whether they are open orclosed. Another type of valve in common use is the lever-handle key orplug valve in which the fluid passes through an aperture in the key whenthe key is turned to bring each end of the aperture into aline ment withthe openings in the body of the valve. This type of valve has theadvantage of being shifted from a fully open position to a completelyclosed position, or vice versa, by a quarter rotation of the operatinghandle, said handle being spaced so as to indicate to an observerwhether the valve is open or closed. However, these lever-handle keyvalves have quite a serious defect because of the inability to adjustthem when the key or plug becomes worn around its periphery in themiddle thereof in such manner that the fluid leaks therearound.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved form ofvalve which embodies the advantages of both the needle valve and thelever-handle key valve: to provide a needle valve adapted to be shiftedfrom one to the other of its limiting positions by turning a leverhandle substantially ninety degrees; and to provide improved means forpreventing the valve from being accidentally'opcned and for adjustingthe position of the valve stem when the valve is open.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which-.-

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a valve constructed according tothis invention, ap-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

Serial No. 45,718.

plied to a supply pipe. Fig. 2 is a section on the line AA of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of theyoke used in connection with the bridge plate.

In the construction shown in the drawings, a stem 1, having squaredouble threads 2 of coarse pitch, is threaded into the body 3 of thevalve, and is located so that the tapered end 4 will fit on the valveseat 5. Rotation of the valve stem is effected by a handle 6 secured tothe octagonal top 7 of the stem by means of a set screw 8. Due to thecoarse pitch of the double threads 2, the valve stem might easily becomeunseated accidentally and leak. Such unseating of, the stem is preventedby means of a spring ratchet construction comprising a plurality ofratchet teeth 9 cut in an annular boss 10 formed on the upper part ofthe body 3, and a plurality of pawls in the form of springs 11 set inthe depending flange 12 of a second handle 14, which is slidably mountedon the end 7 of stem 1. The handle 14 is normally urged downward by acompression spring 15 located between the handles 6 and 1 1, but whichmay he slid upward on the stem against the action of the spring 15, thespace between the handles being sufficient to permit the springs 11 tobe raised up above the ratchet teeth 9, thus allowing the stem 1 to berotated to open the valve. The springs 11 are prevented from slippingout of the recesses in which they are set by an annular ring 16 securedto the lower edge of the depending flange 12 by screws 17. The teeth 9are beveled on their upper edges at 18 in such manner that the springs11 are deflected outward and guided into their proper positiops when thehandle 1 1 is released after being raised to disengage the springs andteeth.

Means for preventing the valve as a whole from shifting relative to thesupply pipe 19,, into which it is threaded, when the lever handle isturned from one position to another, are provided and comprise a yoke 20shaped to embrace a reduced portion of the valve body. The yoke 20 isprovided with a threaded stud 21 shaped to pass through an aperture in abridge plate 22 which bears against and is disposed between the underside of the valve body and supply pipe. Tension is secured between theplate 22 and yoke 20 by means of a nut 23 threaded on the stud 21 afterthe plate has been placed in position.

The operation of the device is as follows z-The ratchet mechanism is soarranged that the handle 6 may be turned to cause the seating of thevalve stem without the lifting of the handle 14, the double threads onthe stem being of such pitch that a quarter turn of the handle 6 willshift the valve stem from a fully open position to a completely closedposition. When it is desired to open the valve, the two handles 6 and 14are first grasped and squeezed together, whereby the lower handle 14 isslid upward on the valve stem, disengaging springs 11 from the ratchetteeth 9, and then the handle may be rotated to open the valve to anydesired position. When the handle 14 is released, the spring 15 forcesit downward, the springs 11 contacting with and being cammed outward bythe beveled por tions 18 of the shoulders 9.

The number of teeth on the ratchet may be different from the number ofsprings, as for example, in the construction shown in Fig. 2, the numberof ratchet teeth being 16 and the number of springs being 12. With suchan arrangement as this, twelve different adjustments in a ninety degreerotation may be had.

Before the valve is applied to a supply pipe, the yoke 20 is slippedover the reduced portion thereof and after the valve has been threadedto the pipe, the bridge plate 22 -is placed underneath the valve andpipe in position to bear upon the same, and the nut 28 is tightenedagainst said plate, thereby causing tension between the yoke and thevalve body sufficient to prevent the Valve as a whole from being twistedfrom its proper position by the turning of the operating handle.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been hereinshown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of theconstruction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from thespirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim 1. A valve, comprising a body having a passageway therethrough,a valve stem a pair of handles on said stem, one of said handles beingrigidly mounted and the other being slidably mounted and rotatable inunison with said rigid handle, and ratchet means acting between saidbody and said shiftable handle for normally preventing the shifting ofsaid stem toward one of its limits, said ratchet means being retractableby the shifting of said slidably mounted handle.

2. A valve, comprising a body having a passageway therethrough, a valveseat, a needle valve stem, a lever handle on said stem, connectionsbetween said body and stem for seating and unseating said stem by asubstantially ninety degree rotation of said handle, a plurality ofratchet teeth on said body, a second handle mounted to rotate with saidfirst mentioned handle, a plurality of pawls carried by said secondhandle and arranged to normally coact with said teeth for normallypreventing the unseating of said valve stem, and means for shifting saidpawls out of coaction with said teeth.

3. A valve, comprising a body having a passageway therethrough, a valvestem, a handle on said stem, coacting means on said body and stemadapted to shift said stem from one to the other of its limitingpositions, a plurality of ratchet teeth on said body, a second handleslidably mounted on said stem to rotate with said first mentionedhandle, and a plurality of springs carried by said second handle andarranged to normally coact with said teeth for normally preventing theshifting of said stem toward one of its limiting positions, said springsbeing shifted out of coaction with said teeth when said second handle ismoved axially on said stem.

4. A valve, comprising a body having a passageway therethrough, a valvestem, a handle on said stem, coacting means on said body and stemadapted to shift said stem from one to the other of its limitingpositions, a plurality of ratchet teeth on said body, a second handleslidably mounted on said stem to rotate with said first mentionedhandle, yielding means normally urging said second handle to oneposition, and a plurality of springs carried by said second handle andarranged to normally coact with said teeth for normally preventing theshifting of said stem toward one of its limiting positions, said springsbeing shifted out of coaction with said teeth when said second handle ismoved to another position.

5. The combination of a supply pipe, a valve comprising a body having apassageway therethrough, a valve stem, a lever handle on said stem,coacting means on said body and stem adapted to shift said stem axiallyfrom one to the other of its limiting positions by a substantiallyninety degree rotation of said lever handle, a yoke embracing a portionof said valve, a plate arranged to bear between said pipe and valvebody, and means for causing tension between said yoke and plate forpreventing preventing the shifting of said stem toward said valve fromshifting relative to said one of its limits, said ratchet means being 10pipe when said lever handle is rotated. retractable by the axialshifting of said 6. A valve, comprising a body having a handle.

5 passageway therethrough, a valve stem; a Signed at Chicago this 12thday of Aug,

handle for rotating said stem and slidable 1915. axially thereon, andratchet means acting between said body and handle for normally ANDREWSTENGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

